Seham’s ‘Today in Palestine’ news digest

Below is my "Today in Palestine" news list. Unrelated to my Flotilla list. Flotilla or not, Israelis are still killing Palestinian men, women and children. In fact another baby died from the siege today. Nobody will hear about that.

Land Theft/Destruction and Ethnic Cleansing
Sheikh Jarrah: Time to act
Today is a difficult day for all of us, for the thousands who have stood over the months in protest in Sheikh Jarrah and to the tens of thousands who support this grave struggle, a struggle for the future of the society in which we live.  Today, adding to the physical police barriers in Sheikh Jarrah [the Jerusalem Magistrate/"Shalom" Court] Judge Ziskind added, in her decision, an additional barrier. Through its decision the Court is attempting to prevent core [Sheikh Jarrah] activists from taking part in any public event connected to Sheikh Jarrah for five months and even to issue a sweeping order preventing the activists from even appearing in the neighborhood during this period. With this the Court, in no uncertain terms, stands with the Jerusalem Police and has joined its efforts to repress and crush the struggle. We know now, like in the past, such repression will only strengthen us as we stand in resistance to injustice.
http://coteret.com/2010/06/01/time-to-act/

Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
July 9 – Celebrating our Victories, Planning for More!
Occupied Palestine – The Palestinian Civil Society Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) calls on people of conscience all over the world to unite for a BDS Media Day on 9 July 2010, the 5th anniversary of launching the BDS movement and the 6th anniversary of the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion stating that Israel is to dismantle its illegal Wall and associated colonial regime.
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/2276.shtml

Violence and Aggression/Siege Related Deaths
2 dead following Israeli incursion into Gaza
Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli forces entered Gaza east of Khan Younis and exchanged fire with fighters near the border, with two reported dead according to Israeli media.  Witnesses said Israeli forces shelled the area, hitting agricultural lands in the area of the sealed Kissufim crossing.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=288693

IOF shoots Palestinian elderly woman
Rafah, June 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation soldiers shot today a Palestinian elderly woman in Rafah, in south of Gaza Strip.  The Director of Emergency Services at Al-Shefa Hospital, Dr. Muawiya Hassanein, said that the medical staff transferred Salma Shlouf, 65, to the hospital, saying that she was critically injured.  Eyewitnesses said that the woman was shepherding her sheep near the Gaza-Israel border.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/6246-iof-shoots-palestinian-elderly-woman

Gaza’s siege kills victim number 374
Gaza, June 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) –The Director of Emergency Services at Al-Shefa Hospital, Dr. Muawiya Hassanein, said that a Gazan infant, 7 months, was dead today as his family was unable to travel to Israel to be treated there, SAFA news agency reportd.
Hassanein said that  the patient infant who was suffering from brain tumor.  He added that the death toll because of siege reached 374 patients, calling to end the siege.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/6249-gazas-siege-kills-victim-number-374

Al Mezan: Israel escalating attacks against Gaza towns, fishermen
Jerusalem – Ma’an – Israel’s ramp up in airstrikes targeting the Gaza Strip continue to harm civilians, workers and fisherman, the Al-Mezan Center for Human rights said Sunday, warning of the consequences of "international silence on the human rights conditions in Gaza."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=288233

Official says settlers verbally assault locals
Salfit – Ma’an – Israeli residents living on the illegal West Bank settlement of Ari’el reportedly verbally assaulted residents of the Eskaka village nearby, in the Salfit governorate, an official said Tuesday.  Head of the village council, Samir Haris, said residents were also threatened by the settlers.  Ari’el, established as an Israeli only community in 1978, is 17 kilometers east of the Green Line, inside Palestinian territory. In 2007, the Israeli rights group Peace Now said it had a population of 16,613. It is the fifth largest illegal settlement in the West Bank, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the "capital" of the West Bank, which Israel terms Judea and Samaria, in January 2010.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=288757

Discrimination
Officer to Arab student: Remove head cover
Israeli Arab on Breaking the Silence tour to Hebron says was asked to remove ‘Muslim indicators’ for own personal safety. ‘This event is a reminder of Hebron‘s prevailing policy of institutionalized ethnic separation backed by Israel‘s police, state’s authorities,’ say Association for Civil Right in Israel.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3896463,00.html

Palestinian denied entry into Hebron over hijab
Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli forces reportedly denied a Palestinian peace activist with Israeli citizenship access to Tal Rumeida in Hebron‘s city center on Sunday, for refusing to remove her head scarf, witnesses said.  The woman, who preferred to remain anonymous, was apparently given the choice of removing her hijab or being barred from entering Tal Rumeida, the witnesses said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=288263

An order targeting Palestinians without papers in the West Bank threatens hardship for Jordan
AMMAN, Jordan — While Jordan and Israel often find themselves politically at odds, it’s rare to find an official group in the Kingdom publicly advocating direct support of armed resistance forces in the Palestinian territories. Jordan is, after all, one of two Arab nations that has a peace agreement with Israel.  Yet as concerns mount that a new Israel military order could potentially deport thousands of Palestinians to Jordan, a veterans’ organization here called to supply Palestinian militants with an “effective missile system.” In a recent statement, the National Committee of Retired Military also said the militia forces law should be reactivated to counter the new Israeli measure.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/jordan/100503/jordan-palestinian-refugees-israel-deportation

Humanitarian Issues/Human Rights/Restriction of Movement/Siege
Egypt opens Gaza border after Israel ship clash
* Egypt opens vital border lifeline for Hamas-run Gaza
* People rush to crossing that was mostly shut since 2007
* Follows bloody Israeli seizure of blockade-running ship
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE6501E6.htm

"No other options:" Gaza’s tunnel industry
GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) – Life can be hard working in these tunnels, and it is always at risk. But many have no choice but to work in them, particularly since mid-2007, when Israel and Egypt, with the help of the international community, imposed a siege of staggering severity on the 1.5 million humans in the Gaza Strip.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11309.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29

“End the siege on Gaza now” say MEPs visiting the territory
A delegation of nine Members of the European Parliament, from the Foreign Affairs, Budgets and Development committees, left the Gaza Strip on Friday after a fact-finding mission hosted by UNRWA. The delegation monitored and assessed the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the impact of EU financial assistance.  The visit was made possible thanks to the support of the Egyptian authorities whose invaluable help was highly appreciated by the delegation.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/KHII-85Z4XU?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Siege on Gaza: 1.5 million imprisoned persons
Since June 2007, when Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, Israel has imposed a tight blockade on the area. According to Israeli officials, the objective of the siege is to bring down the Hamas government and lead to the release of Gilad Shalit.
http://www.btselem.org/English/Gaza_Strip/20100531_The_Siege_on_Gaza.asp

The siege on the Gaza Strip: 1.5 million people imprisoned
Since June 2007, when Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, Israel has imposed a tight blockade on the area. According to Israeli officials, the objective of the siege is to bring down the Hamas government and lead to the release of Gilad Shalit. The siege thus constitutes collective punishment of the civilian population, and as such it is unlawful.  Even after the withdrawal, Israel controls the Gaza Strip
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/KHII-85Z35P?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Single Gaza crossing to open
Gaza – Ma’an – The Kerem Shalom crossing was opened on Tuesday morning for the transport of 70-80 truckloads of goods, following a complete closure of all crossing points the day before.  Palestinian crossings official Raed Fattouh said Israeli officials informed him that the trucks to be permitted into the Strip for the day would be loaded with goods destined for the agricultural sector, as well as one truck of cement for INGO reconstruction projects.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=288694

Ahmed Moor: Breaking the Israeli-Egyptian Siege of Gaza
The medieval Israeli and Egyptian siege of the Gaza Strip has now entered its fifth year. It was on January 25, 2006 that the Palestinian people in Israeli-occupied Gaza and the West Bank collectively decided to democratically oust Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party from power. Like Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan and Ahmed Chalabi in Iraq, Mahmoud Abbas is America’s guy — which in many ways means he’s Israel’s guy, too. So when Hamas was democratically elected to root out the corruption that festered, burst and still oozes under Abbas, the Fatah militia trained and armed by General Keith Dayton attempted a coup. When that failed, the great powers decided to collectively punish 1.5 million Palestinians (half of them children) for enacting their moral and human right — their right to vote.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ahmed-moor/breaking-the-israeli-egyp_b_594318.html

Political Developments
PA refrains from suspending Israel proximity talks, despite Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla
PA did however issue statement condemning Israel for the "massacre" and calling for the culprits to be put on trial for their "crime."
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/pa-refrains-from-suspending-israel-proximity-talks-despite-israeli-raid-on-gaza-flotilla-1.293537?localLinksEnabled=false

Questions over US policy on Middle East conflict
Even before the Gaza aid flotilla crisis, both Barack Obama, the US president, and Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, had been trying to erase the perception of strained US-Israel relations. But among some quarters in Washington, questions over unqualified US support for Israel remain. The US military is starting to show concern over the cost of supporting Israel, at a time when it has thousands of troops in the Arab and Muslim world. Al Jazeera’s Clayton Swisher explains. (June 01, 2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdGjogGBJPY&feature=youtube_gdata

Mossad chief: Israel gradually becoming burden on U.S.
Meir Dagan says Israel has turned from an asset to a burden; Senior IDF officer says the IDF didn’t sabotage a Gaza aid ship in bid to avoid humanitarian crisis.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/mossad-chief-israel-gradually-becoming-burden-on-u-s-1.293540?localLinksEnabled=false

Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest

Border Control / Did someone say Goldstone, Akiva Eldar
Will the blood spilled on the flotilla’s decks flush away the Goldstone report, or carry it to The Hague?

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/border-control-did-someone-say-goldstone-1.293444

As Palestinians unite in anger, pressure grows on Fatah and Hamas to reconcile
ANALYSIS: Israeli aggression has undermined prospects for peace talks and boosted extremists, writes Michael Jansen.  ISRAEL’S USE of force against the flotilla of boats seeking to deliver aid to Gaza has reaffirmed popular Palestinian unity and strengthened pressure on Fatah and Hamas to reconcile.  The Saudi and Egyptian governments, which have been promoting reconciliation, are likely to revive their efforts to get the divided Palestinians to quickly resolve their differences and establish a solid front to counter Israeli policies and actions regarded as harmful to the entire Palestinian people.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/0601/1224271593758.html

The U.S.S. Liberty and the culture of impunity, Philip Weiss
The attack on the USS Liberty is one of the great enigmas of US-Israel relations. On June 8, 1967, in the middle of the Six-Day War, Israeli planes attacked an American spy ship, the Liberty, that was in international waters off the coast of Egypt, listening in on secret communications. The attacks appeared to be deliberate, involving numerous passes on a clearly-marked American boat, strafing and napalming. The attack killed 34 Americans and produced very little by way of investigation. It was deemed an accident from the start, although many American officials doubted this conclusion.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/05/the-u-s-s-liberty-and-the-culture-of-impunity.html

The WASP Penchant for Zionism, MICHAEL NEUMANN
First things first: Yves Engler’s Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid  (Vancouver, British Columbia.  Red Publishing 2010.  167 pages.) is the only book that need be written on Canada‘s policies towards Israel.   It is clear and pursues the subject at some depth.   It is the most carefully documented book relating to the Israel/Palestine conflict I have ever read.   Its analyses are perceptive and measured. 
http://www.counterpunch.com/neumann05312010.html

Iraq
Iraqi civilian toll in May highest this year (AFP)
AFP – The number of Iraqi civilians killed in acts of violence in May was the highest monthly tally so far this year, figures released on Tuesday showed.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100601/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunresttollmonthly

Monday: 9 Iraqis Killed, 29 Wounded
At least nine Iraqis were killed and 29 more were wounded in the latest violence. Meanwhile, U.S. troops held Memorial Day observations at a former Saddam palace located at Camp Victory. Also, thousands of Iraqis, at the behest of Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, protested the Israeli attack on a Gaza-aid flotilla and used the demonstration to chant against the United States as well.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/05/31/monday-9-iraqis-killed-29-wounded/

Iraq arrests two over Baghdad hotel bombs (Reuters)
Reuters – Iraqi security forces said on Monday they had arrested two suspected al Qaeda militants for the January bombing of three Baghdad hotels in which 36 people died.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100531/wl_nm/us_iraq_violence_arrests

Iraq court approves election result
Supreme court approval of March 7 results pave way for formation of new government.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/06/201061101237371594.html

Iraq’s Sunni insurgent groups gather to plot comeback amid political crisis
BAGHDAD — Seven years after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, dozens of Iraqis representing various insurgent groups checked into a five-star hotel in Istanbul this spring to plot a comeback.
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=3851245b2fa119b61d5f04075d3d15a0

Breaking the Siege against Iraq: My Mother’s Journey, Zarathustra
People tend to forget that the policy of breaking the will and determination of people through brutal sieges started with Iraq, when at the time the UN imposed an illegal inhumane embargo on Iraq that eventually crippled Iraq and caused the death over a million Iraqis including over 500,000 children. Israel Copied it’s master and is following the same exact tactics to break the will of People of Gaza and kill as many Palestinians as it can (indirectly and directly).
http://palestinianpundit.blogspot.com/2010/06/breaking-siege-against-iraq-my-mothers.html

U.S. and Other World News
US hegemony in Middle East is ending | Chris Phillips
A recent arms deal between Russia and Syria has raised the prospect of a new cold war in the Middle East. Foreign Policy’s Josh Landis, for example, suggests that unconditional US support for Israel will draw Moscow back into its pre-1989 role as supporter and arms supplier for the enemies of Tel Aviv and Washington.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/31/us-hegemony-middle-east-ending

Study points to inequality in Arab healthcare
BEIRUT: Inequality in healthcare continues to grow in the Arab world, in spite of generally improving facilities, according to a leading regional health expert, according to a study made available by the American University of Beirut (AUB) on Monday.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=115422

Arabs are more nuanced in judging America’s behavior
For more than two decades, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been the core element that has shaped Arab public opinion of the United States. But the tenure of President George W. Bush and the Barack Obama phenomenon have taught us that new factors are now shaping how millions of Arabs view the US.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=115432

Hossam el-Hamalawy, "Egypt: Can the Muslim Brotherhood Say ‘Down with Mubarak’?" (w. Videos)
I can almost swear this is the first time I hear the Muslim Brothers chanting publicly, "Down with Mubarak!" . . . Nyahahaha . . . the cowards. During the evening Palestine protest in Ramses, whenever the Socialists chanted "Down with Mubarak," followed by young MBs, you can see in the video MB organizers waving "No," trying to suppress the chants and change them. Some of their members might have chanted in the morning "Down with Mubarak" (see above), but the group’s main leadership remains timid, cowardly, and compromising till the end vis-à-vis the regime. . . .
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/hamalawy310510.html